It's Friday, time for some magic. Thanks to Lynn S.M. for her beta.Magical DistractionsClark contemplated the benefits of ordering a fourth drink. He desperately needed something to distract himself from the enticing sight of Lois. Her shapely legs and soft curves drew his eyes like a magnet. It took all his willpower to resist her siren call.
Until tonight he'd only ever seen her in long winter coats and business suits. While they couldn't quite hide her rare beauty, this chicken costume was designed to let his thoughts drift toward forbidden places.
Clark slipped his sunglasses more firmly in place and tightened his grip on the empty whisky glass as he fought to keep his head straight. A single crack appeared in the glass and immediately, Clark released his hold, mindful of his strength.
Houdini, who had stretched out on the floor, whimpered softly. Had his ears picked up Clark's slip?
"I'm sorry, mister." A female voice startled him. "There are no dogs allowed in this bar."
He turned his head in her direction, deliberately taking his time and letting his jaw work as if he was having a hard time remembering his manners. Then he plastered a fake smile on his lips, looking a few inches past Toni Taylor, who was standing at the bar seeming slightly flustered all of a sudden.
"I'm sorry, ma’am," Clark said. His voice was cold but polite. "I didn't realize you did not accommodate handicapped customers."
He adjusted his sunglasses again to strengthen his point. Then he pulled a neatly folded hundred-dollar bill out of his wallet and placed it on the counter.
Clark clicked his tongue and Houdini jumped up to rush to his side, the perfect image of a guide dog. The handle of the harness was right before his hand, ready for Clark to take. He was thoroughly impressed by Houdini's performance.
Or was it just a fluke?
"My dog and I will leave." He took Houdini and turned, silently praying that he was making an impression on Toni Taylor.
"I… uh… I'm sorry, I didn't realize…" she trailed off. "Please accept my apologies. Your drinks are on the house, of course."
In the reflection of his glasses, Clark saw her throw up her hands, quietly urging the bartender to help her out and ensure that her guest wouldn't just leave. But the guy just gave a helpless shrug and poured a glass of white wine.
“Wait!” Clark felt Toni’s hand on his shoulder. "May I invite you to another drink?"
He stood stiff, not sure how to react. He had her right where he wanted her, however he had accomplished that. But if he gave in too quickly now, it might look suspicious. For agonizing moments Clark was at a loss for what to do.
Then Houdini jumped to his aid. He dropped out of his role and pulled him back toward Toni Taylor.
"Oh my, aren’t you a cutie!" She patted the dog's head. "I'll see if I can find some water for you."
"Houdini likes you.” Clark allowed his lips to twitch into a broadening smile. "I can't argue with that. He's a good judge of character.
"My name is Charles King." He sat back down and held out his hand in Toni’s general direction.
Toni shook it. Her gaze drifted across his features and then flitted down to his chest, before she swallowed and dragged her gaze back up.
"Toni Taylor." She smiled at him, a deep flush tinting her cheeks. "Nice to meet you. I'm sorry about earlier. We had a few problems with customers who… oh, never mind."
The bartender set the wine glass right next to Clark's hand.
"It's okay." Clark shook his head and laughed softly. "This isn't the first time Houdini and I have been asked to leave. But I usually don't end up having a drink with a lovely sounding woman."
He felt for the glass and raised it in a toast. "To you - I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting evening."
While he took a sip of the white wine, he turned his head as if listening to the music. Lois was still dancing up there, still breathtakingly beautiful. His heart clenched wistfully as he allowed himself to look at Lois for a moment. When their gazes met, it seemed like the world stood still. The air seemed to sizzle with a kind of magic that had nothing to do with his powers.
“So, what brings you here tonight?” Toni interrupted his reverie.
Before Clark had a chance to reply, the doors of the bar flew open with a bang. A group of four people dressed in metallic warm-up suits with matching hoods and masks stepped inside and lined up several feet from Johnny Taylor's table. They pulled out their weapons, each attached to a backpack and looking as if it had been taken right out of a Ghostbusters movie.
A faint smell of gasoline reached Clark's nose. His heart skipped a beat as he realized they had fire throwers.
An intruder standing in the middle flipped a switch on his weapon. “Johnny, you're a dead man!”
The others imitated the motion and with a roar the weapons spit fire.
Clark grabbed Houdini's harness to keep him from rushing off in panic. Agonized, he watched the ball of flames exploding in the bar. Johnny and his goons had taken cover behind their table. People were screaming and running out of harm's way. The whole bar was in motion, a tangled mess of flames and panic. Clark’s gaze automatically drifted toward the stage to check on Lois.
The dancers rushed to the back, leaving the stage as quickly as their feet would let them. None of them was in the immediate line of fire.
The attack didn't last long. After a few moments of frantic laughter and spraying fire all over the place, the four guys in their silver suits were gone. Smaller and larger fires were still burning.
The next moment, every customer was trying to get out of the bar, pushing others out of the way.
A panicked squeal to his right drew Clark's attention to Toni, who was trapped behind a wall of flames. But he also felt the tremors running through Houdini's body, the whole harness shaking with him. He couldn’t leave the poor dog alone. If he lost Houdini, his whole life was essentially over.
Clark sucked in a sharp breath, knowing that he had no time to waste.
"Sorry, buddy.” He bent down and picked up Houdini, rushing out of the bar faster than the eye could see. A low whimper seemed to follow him and Houdini was still trembling all over as Clark put him down outside on the street. "Stay put!"
With an uneasy prickling in the back of his neck, Clark rushed back inside to get Toni. He jumped through the fire, picked her up, and carried her to safety. He set her back on her feet close to the entrance and looked around, searching for Lois. His hands were shaking slightly and he tightened them into fists. He was relieved that his powers had worked the way they should. But this wasn’t over yet.
His heart beat in his throat as he turned back to Toni. “Get out.”
She stared at him, open mouthed and with a frown on her forehead that left little doubt that at least his cover as a blind guy was blown. His gut clenched into a tight knot. Could she guess more than that?
He gave her a slight shove, urging her out of the bar before he focused his attention back on Lois. The prickling in the back of his neck intensified. Was this just his nerves or would his powers show now at the most inopportune moment of all?
His heart hammered in his chest as he lowered his glasses and x-rayed the walls. Lois was still behind the stage, running toward the entrance. There was another wall of flames that would block her way.
Clark inhaled deeply and killed all the minor and major fires in the room with his superbreath. It wasn’t a moment too soon. As he turned back to the entrance he saw Lois standingin front of the curtain, her eyes wide. Snowflakes whirled through the air - or were they ashes? A sense of dread was creeping up on Clark. Had she seen what he’d done?
Lois hurried toward him. “Clark, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he muttered.
His gaze drifted toward the wall on the far side of the room where the flames had painted the words “The Toasters.” He should have been overjoyed, because those eleven letters exonerated MagiKal. But the truth was that Clark just felt numb.
He placed his hand on the small of Lois’ back and guided her outside. Houdini came rushing toward him, jumping up and trying to lick his face. Absent-mindedly, he scratched the dog’s fur.
Lois looked at the bar, then turned her attention back to Clark. “I guess this means we have proof that MagiKal is innocent.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.” Clark got down to his knees and undid Houidini’s harness. Then he got up again, slipped out of his jacket and wrapped it around Lois’s shoulders. “What are we going to do now?”
She grinned at him. “Secure an interview with MagiKal?”
His breath hitched in his chest and he wasn’t sure if he felt capable of drawing another one. Had the other shoe already dropped? The world seemed to be spinning about him, but he could hardly go and ask her if she knew his secret.
But the wonderful, slightly impish smile on her lips was designed to make him lose his mind, regardless of whether she knew.
